Gig

Fall Out Boy - Gig Review & Photo Gallery 2nd March @ Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney NSW

Walladmin

Heavy Metal Wordsmith

Mar 3, 2018

7 min read

Fall Out Boy
Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney NSW
March 2nd, 2018
Support: WAAX

The last time Fall Out Boy toured Australian shores, it was with the now truly dead festival that once was known as Soundwave. What a festival that was, until it slowly started to disappoint, but they definitely didn’t when they had these guys headline it, however that was a solid few years ago now. It was surprising when Fall Out Boy announced a new tour which was long overdue, but this time around, it was a full blown arena show.

Opening up for what was to be one hell of a night was the band from Brisbane who came out with a bang — WAAX. I’ve honestly never heard of these guys before and it was incredible to see a rock band with a FEMALE vocalist for once, as opposed to the ever so common male vocalists. I know there are some kick ass screamers out there, but as far as female fronts in the heavy scene go, I don’t know of all that many. I listened to their set with an open mind, but found that it just wasn’t my thing. As far as heavy music goes, I’ve never really been a fan of the yelling side of the vocals, however I can appreciate the solid talent (and long hair) that this band have. With a killer stage confidence, they made themselves known, however shying away from speaking to the crowd directly as much as you’d normally encounter which was a little disappointing but it was so nice to see a band of this genre and dynamic performing such a huge show.

Next up, the one and only Fall Out Boy were to take the stage. With incredible graphics and visuals set up on a giant screen, waves rolled before a countdown timer began, not a voice in that crowd was not counting down at the top of their lungs. The screen turned black and a message popped up, “please be silent and put away cell phones” which to me showed that the band tried to portray the message of enjoying the show through the eyes they were provided with, as opposed to camera screens. Surprisingly, as far as I could see, a lot of people actually did NOT pull out their phones and use them the entire show which is a rarity.

Kicking off the setlist with 'The Phoenix', the stage continually blasting pyrotechnics in the form of fire and fireworks, this showed me that tonight was going to be nothing short of incredible and definitely a show you would not want to miss. With fans going absolutely mental for the songs being played, it was clear pretty early on that this set was going to be full of throwbacks and not a whole lot from M A N I A itself, which I wasn’t complaining about. The continual energy being shown by the guys was definitely felt throughout as I never heard a single voice falling silent and never not singing throughout the entire set. Shortly after their first few songs, bassist Pete Wentz was already heavily interacting with the crowd, admiring a fans sketches and asking their photographer to pass it over and then seeing another fan's sign asking for a drumstick and handing it out to them, purely because he could. The first new song that they debuted was 'Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea' which out of the entire M A N I A album and of their newer released tracks, I’d have to say this is up there with my favourites, so seeing this played live was definitely a high point and it seemed to be a standout for everyone in the room. The dynamic was something indescribable; the vocals and instrumentals were so clean and precise that it were as if you had taken an arena and blasted the studio version, adding in the sounds of over a thousand screaming fans.

Just after this, Pete was back at it again, interacting with the crowd and even inviting two fans to come and watch from the side since they’d been rocking out so hard up in their seats. It’s this kind of interaction that I feel puts the show at a more personal level and less of a performance and really makes people feel special. No more new songs were played for a little bit after this, not until 'Last Of The Real Ones' was played and once again, this was one of the standout songs that I loved off their latest record and seeing it live with a new depth, it was really something incredible.

With a second stage being in use, frontman Patrick Stump took the time to perform 'Young And Menace' acoustically on the piano and yes, sorry to say, I’m still not a fan of that song. It was a talent to perform it on piano and the vocals were to die for, but that song is still just not something I enjoy. Meanwhile, Pete took the time to put on a disguise as a security guard to walk through the crowd (with bodyguards of course, he wasn’t THAT well disguised) and make his way over to the second stage for the next few songs, but not before the epic, jaw-dropping drum solo performed by none other than Andy Hurley. 'Dance, Dance' was next, and this is just one of those songs that whether you’ve heard it once or a million times, you can’t help but love it and sing every single word out like you’re singing in the bathroom, loud proud and for most of us, probably very off key. Dancing people left, right and centre were all thrilled to hear this classic being played.

Once the second stage was finished being used, there was a short video clip being played of some people in llama suits, talking about something I didn’t quite understand since I was so confused and couldn’t hear over the screams, but two people then appeared on stage in llama suits for a fleeting moment before walking back off stage again. It was quite confusing but the hilarity of it all was well worth standing there thinking “what the fuck is happening?”.

The set was closed out by playing 'Champion' which is such an absolutely wonderful song, which I personally find to carry a strong message with it. However, the visuals that were playing on the back screen were of the late Princess Diana and various news clips, clips of her wedding, ski holiday with the current Princes and her tragic death in the car accident while on a trip to France. I can honestly say, I really do not understand what any of these media clips or footage of the late Princess had to do with the song or concept at all. While the lyrics do state “If I can live through this, I can do anything”, it just seems a little strange.

Fans will surely be left without voices and incredibly sore throats tomorrow as I have to say, this is probably one of the loudest crowds I’ve heard in a while. Deafening screams and applause told me how much Fall Out Boy will always be loved, no matter what. Even by me, whether I liked their recent record or not. This was a show that if you missed out on seeing, you’ll be regretting it. With visuals to back the songs and show clips that resonated with every song, it was an arena tour like no other. I can only hope that the tours keep coming, as does the new music. I had one of the best nights at this show with two of my best friends and I can’t wait to experience it again the next time they come back Down Under.

Setlist

The Phoenix
Irresistible
Hum Hallelujah
Sugar, We’re Goin Down
Immortals
Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea
Centuries
Save Rock And Roll
The Last Of The Real Ones
Young And Menace
Dance, Dance
Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)
I Don’t Care
This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race
Hold Me Tight Or Don’t
Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy
Thnks Fr Th Mmrs
Champion